Ali Bagautinov Suspended One Year, Tests Positive for EPO

It was less than a month ago when Ali Bagautinov came up short in his fight against flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC 174 in . Now, he won’t be fighting again for a while.

The British Columbia Athletic Commission announced today that Bagautinov tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) prior to the fight and has been suspended for one year.

There were eight UFC 174 competitors tested on June 14, 2014, for the presence of banned substances, including the two flyweight title fighters and six random competitors. All competitors’ test results complied with World Anti-Doping Agency Standards subscribed to by the BC athletic commissioner, as well as our anti-doping policies.

In addition to the June 14 tests, Mr. Ali Bagautinov – one of the two flyweight title fighters – was tested out of competition on June 2, 2014.

Results received by this office from the June 2 tests on Mr. Bagautinov were positive for erythropoietin, or EPO – a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. These results were not available prior to the UFC 174 event due to lab processing times.

Mr. Bagautinov lost his bid for the flyweight title to Demetrious Johnson.

I have suspended Mr. Bagautinov’s licence to compete in British Columbia for a period of one year.

It’s not the first time that Bagautinov has been suspended for using performance enhancing drugs. Back in November of 2012, he tested positive for Methylhexaneamine, an energy-boosting dietary supplement – and was then banned by the International Sambo Federation (FIAS). He was also forced to give up any awards and financial support he received during that year’s competition.

EPO has most commonly been linked to the cycling world including Lance Armstrong who infamously admitted to using the performance enhancer which is a hormone that controls the production of red blood cells.

More recently, Chael Sonnen tested positive for EPO along with HGH in his second failed drug test.

About Brian Fritz

Brian is the owner and editor-in-chief of Between The Ropes. He has also covered wrestling and MMA for The Orlando Sentinel and AOL Fanhouse and currently is a contributor for Sporting News. You can email Brian at btrfritz@gmail.com.